Stop Fake Service Dog Fraud in Connecticut

People are passing off pets as service dogs in Connecticut – and real service dog teams pay the price. Add your name below.

Help protect service dogs and the people who rely on them.

There is a serious problem on the rise in Connecticut: people are misrepresenting pets as service dogs, often using vests, badges, certificates, or online “registrations” bought on the internet.

When those animals bark, jump, lunge, distract working service dogs, or behave aggressively in public, people with real service dogs pay the price.

People with disabilities can be questioned, delayed, embarrassed, or even turned away from businesses and public places – all because someone else cheated the system.

More than half the country has already passed laws against fraudulent service dog misrepresentation. Connecticut hasn’t. Connecticut should be next. 

Tell Connecticut lawmakers to make it illegal to fake a service dog and put a real penalty in place for people who do.

SIGN THE PETITION

Source: Animal Legal & Historical Center, Michigan State University College of Law (2026)

Fake service dogs create real harm

We all love our dogs. We want them with us everywhere we go.

But a real service dog is not a pet in public spaces. A service dog is a trained partner that helps a person with a disability live with safety, freedom, and dignity. 

When people knowingly pass off untrained pets as service dogs, it:

Confuses businesses

Businesses and staff can’t always tell a trained team from a fraud, so they hesitate, over-question, or get it wrong.

Erases the difference

Every fake makes the public assume the next service dog is faked too – and blurs the line between pets, ESAs, therapy animals, and trained service dogs.

Delays or denies access

Real service dog teams get stopped, doubted, and turned away from places they have every right to be.

Distracts working service dogs

An untrained pet lunging or barking can pull a service dog off a trained task when their handler needs them most.

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“Honey gave me my life back. For the first time in eight years, I could go to the amusement park with my grandkids. My nightmares all but disappeared.”
– Ralph, U.S. Army veteran and ECAD graduate

Honey helps Ralph do more than get through the day – she helps him take part in life again. As a trained ECAD Project HEAL service dog, Honey provides steady support, practical assistance, and a calming presence when Ralph needs it most. That is what this campaign is about: protecting real service dogs and the people who rely on them from the harm caused by fake service dog fraud.

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What trained ECAD service dogs make possible

Ralph, a U.S. Army veteran and ECAD graduate, with his service dog Honey.
Ralph & Honey
“I was back at my grandkids’ events, on the boardwalk, even at the amusement park. Places I’d stopped going.”
Gabby, an ECAD graduate, with her service dog Bravo.
Gabby & Bravo
“Bravo opens doors and hands me my mouth stick so I can use my phone. He gives me independence I don’t have on my own. He’s my rock.”
Anthony, an ECAD graduate, with his service dog Libby.
Anthony & Libby
“With Libby I’ve gained so much independence. She helps with my balance and has given me back my freedom. I’m no longer housebound.”
Shirley, an ECAD graduate, with her service dog Bonito (Bo).
Shirley & Bonito (Bo)
“I used to walk everywhere in town – people knew me as ‘The Walker.’ Then I stopped going to events, stopped walking, started avoiding people. Bo has reopened my town for me.”
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The solution

Connecticut already started the conversation. Let’s finish it with real protections.

In 2025, the Connecticut Senate passed SB 1386, a bill on dog-breed insurance discrimination that also included a provision directing the state’s Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities to study whether a penalty for fraudulently misrepresenting a pet as a service dog should be created. The bill did not become law before the session ended, so Connecticut still has no penalty in place.

Connecticut has the groundwork. Now it needs the follow-through: a bill that actually puts a real penalty in place for people who knowingly fake a service dog, while protecting legitimate handlers and adding no new burdens for them.

Your signature shows lawmakers this matters to Connecticut, in their districts, before they return to the Capitol.

SB 1386 and what’s next

The Connecticut path forward

Connecticut doesn’t have a law banning the fraudulent misrepresentation of pets as service animals – yet. In 2025, SB 1386 raised the issue and called for a feasibility study, but stalled before becoming law. The next step is clear: legislation that actually creates a penalty for intentional misrepresentation, protects real service dog teams, supports businesses, and reduces confusion for the public.

ECAD staff members and three service dogs in green ECAD vests standing with State Representative Bill Heffernan at the Connecticut State Capitol.

ECAD staff and service dog teams with State Representative Bill Heffernan (D-West Haven) at the State Capitol, April 2026.

Lawmakers are listening.

In April, ECAD staff and service dog teams met with State Representative Bill Heffernan (D-West Haven) at the State Capitol to discuss service dog fraud in Connecticut. Following the visit, Rep. Heffernan posted publicly that “we definitely have some work to do next session.”

Your signature gives legislators like him something concrete to point to.

SIGN THE PETITION

What this is NOT

This campaign targets intentional fraud – not people with disabilities, and not pets. It adds zero new hoops, papers, or proof for real service dog teams.

Not IDs, registrations, or certifications

Under the ADA, no card, list, or certificate proves a service dog – and businesses can’t demand one. This campaign doesn’t change that.

Not anti-pet

Loving your dog and bringing it places built for pets is not the issue. This is about dogs falsely passed off as trained service dogs.

Not a new barrier for handlers

This petition does not ask for new requirements, questions, or paperwork for legitimate service dog teams.

This is about stopping fraud

It targets people who knowingly misrepresent a pet as a service dog – nothing more, nothing less.

No IDs. No registrations. No certifications. Not anti-pet. Not a new barrier for handlers. Just stopping people who knowingly misrepresent a pet as a service dog.

SIGN THE PETITION

Sign the petition.

Tell Connecticut lawmakers to make it illegal to fake a service dog – and to put a real penalty in place for people who do.

SIGN THE PETITION